A Whole New Worm

Shore Line Times
Wednesday, November 17, 2004

"Nerds to Go" President and CEO David Colella believes the worm has turned. THe latest permutation of the MYDoom computer virus has been unleashed, and the Guilford-based computer service company has been plenty busy.
As the self-replicating worm tunnels through cyberspace, wreaking havoc on PCs and wiping out doctoral dissertations, computer experts like the folks at Nerds to Go burn the midnight oil trying to save hard drives from oblivion.
First, some clarification. E-mail has evolved from a convenience to a necessity. Worms are very similar to the old-time viruses in that they are computer programs that replicate, usually to other computer systems through network connections, and often contain some function that will interfere with the normal use of a computer or a program. Remember the ILOVEYOU worm in 2000? Millions of computers were invaded. Thousands of industries, including newspapers, were log jammed by the ILOVEYOU worm.
As if spam and cookies weren't bad enough. Now, MyDoom is here to suck the rest of the life out of our professional efforts. It used to be that we were pretty safe dialing up to the internet either with the standard modem or something faster, but with today's technology and the growing threat of computer viruses and worms that's not the case anymore.
What to do? Keep antivirus and other software up to date. Back up everything of importance - Letters, papers, photos and the like, because everyday new viruses, worms, and threats appear, and out-of-date software won't protect your machine. E-mail attachments are not your friends. Open with care. Remember that hackers are forever fighting off boredom; hence, this week's MyDoom will be supplanted next week with a weirder and wackier worm. The PayPal message that spells this week's headache will once again be your friend when the newest permutation comes along.
It's wild and wooly Internet out there. Take care of yourself and your motherboard.